I’m a black and white photograph lover. Whether its landscape, citiyscapes, people or pets, I’m all about that monochromatic life. What I love even more are the DRAMATIC black and white portraits. I love the feel you get from dark contrasted photographs. It shows emotions, drama and makes you feel something; not to mention the beautiful shadows on your subject’s face.

I’m sharing my favorite portraits and lighting techniques from my last project, capturing black and white portraits. It was a success and I’m extremely happy with the end results.

To achieve the Butterfly Lighting method, place the flash directly above the subject pointed down. This will cast a shadow underneath the nose that resembles a butterfly, hence the name.

This image was shot with the model sitting 90 degrees from the camera, with the light pointing down at her

Butterfly Lighting

Loop Lighting

Loop Lighting is a very popular and easiest to achieve. With the subject facing the camera, place the flash 30-45 degrees above the subject’s eye level. This creates the beautiful loop on the subject’s nose.

Loop Lighting

Rembrandt Lighting

Rembrandt Lighting is harder to accomplish. Named after the famous Dutch Painter Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. The light creates a beautiful triangle just underneath the eye, no larger than the eye. It’s great for round faces and if done correctly, will slim the subject’s face and add dimension. You’ll have to play with this type of lighting a little more depending on your subject’s face shape. But once you get it, you’ll love the drama it gives to your images.

Those are my preferred lighting techniques for dramatic black and white photographs, now time for photo sharing. These are my favorite images from my project.

If you’re just getting into photography, these are some lighting techniques to help step up your game. You can find a plethora of lighting diagrams to help you setup your lights and get some inspiration for your next dramatic portrait session. I enjoyed this project very much; to view all my favorite images, click here. Until next time, HAPPY SHOOTING!

There were only a few cities in Europe that were as completely destroyed as this historic city in the wake of World War 2. The heart of Poland was once considered one of the most beautiful cities in the western world, and was nicknamed the Paris of the North. During the war, the Polish government was exiled to Paris, then Angers, and later London. Though they never fully disbanded, they were not recognized as the Soviets had placed their own government in power following the end of the War. Finally in 1990 elections offered up the first non-communist president of Poland and brought Poland into a new era.

The entrance to one of the Polish Ghettos still stands as a reminder of the city’s past. Behind new towers rise up above the Warsaw skyline.

Because of its wild past, architecture in Poland is eclectic in unique ways. Its different Keret House is an art installation that represents the bridge from the pre-war Polish residential building on the right and a newer apartment building on the left.

If you get to visit Warsaw, the Red Hog (Czerwonym Wieprzem) offers a unique historical meal. In an old socialist Leipzig hall a bricked off room held a treasure trove of soviet medals uniforms and a fresco of Marx, Lenin and Engels and a box of recipes. Once there stood the Iron Tavern which Lenon frequented during the early 1900’s. It appears that in the 1960’s, to celebrate the first May Day parade in 1905 a secret bar was built beneath the Leipzig to lavish dignitaries of the Soviet state when they were visiting town. Today, with the help of the notes and a a wonderful sense of humor, the Red Hog pays “tribute” to its former guests by recreating the elitist supper club for the masses, which delightfully named dishes that cater to the needs of the bourgeois and the proletariat alike.

The crown jewel of Warsaw has to be Old Town though. Recognized as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1980, this beautiful heart of the city represents architecture that spans from 1300’s to the 20th century. The center of town was completely destroyed during World War 2 and was meticulously put back together with the helps of city plans that had survived and aerial photographs from before the war. The impressive reconstruction has drawn visitors from throughout the world to walk its cobbled streets and visit its historic cathedrals and museums, or just to sit in the center plaza.s

Castle square flanks on side of Old town, which is surrounded by a medieval wall that protected Warsaw. The castle was first home to the Dukes of Masovia, and later the royalty of the Polish-Lithuanian monarchy. Later in 1791 it was the location where the national constitution was signed for Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth. The Castle Square has been the center of many political changes over the course of Polish history and is now also a UNESCO World Heritage site along with Old Town.

Warsaw is a beautiful city, one that is growing at a rate that even Berlin can’t keep up with. A leader in the former Eastern Bloc nations, it continues to thrive in its autonomy. Throughout its storied past, it has shown an indomitable spirit that continues to help it prosper. The city’s symbol is a freshwater mermaid (or melusina) that stands with drawn sword and shield to protect the city. Even though the city has its scars, it continues to be a peerless city, as there is no place in the world like it.

For this month’s project, we have Diptych, Triptych and Polyptych. Dave and I settled for diptych and got our theme from new Jordan Peele movie “Us,” which we had the pleasure of watching this weekend. No spoilers here beyond what you’d see in the trailer! The basic drama revolves around a family who is tormented by a malevolent version of themselves. One family is living a picturesque life full and prosperous while the other suffers in the shadows. The movie uses many allegories such as man’s duality, privilege and abandonment.

To make stark contrasts between the two versions, all of our scenes are of everyday activities taken to two extremes. The actions tie the two together, but the expressions and the grooming give them polarity. But even in the striking differences between the two you can see how they mirror each other in more subtle ways.

Ultimately there is pain in both worlds, and as emotions cross over from left to right it blurs ideas such as true-self vs alter ego or good vs bad. In reality we know there is no such thing as an evil twin. So where does the malevolence come from? If you like psychological thrillers, go see “Us,” it certainly got us thinking. If you saw it let us know what you think of both the movie and of our project.

We bought the Canon 40mm Pancake last year and have been working with it off and on. It’s a great size for travel and street photography. It’s super lightweight so you won’t be sore after a full day of shooting and fits right into your pocket for easy carrying. At 40mm, you can move back a few steps to get more of the scene into the shot or a few steps closer for an intimate portrait. The f/2.8 allows more light in and gives you nice bokeh to the background to separate your subjects. It’s affordable at only $179 on Amazon right now and can be a nice gift for those budding photographers in your life.

However, sharpness with this lens is a hit or miss. No matter how steady your hands are, the focus will probably be off 40% of the time. So when shooting travel or street, you really can’t afford to miss those once-in-a-lifetime shots. It still is a good lens for controlled environment and portrait photography.

It’s a great prime lens for beginners to practice with and when you do get sharp images, the results are great. It’s a good cheap lens to get you started on your prime collection. With the cost so low, you can always upgrade later on. Check out some samples below from the Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis, MN.

Many of you know about our Dog Mr. Bo Jangles, or occasionally referred to as Bo Jackson Pollack. Our February project was “A Day in the Life of Bo” our little/big rescue pup. And February came and went, whoops! But February weather stayed for March and on a snowy Sunday we finally followed our beloved pup around with a camera and captured his adorable existence.

We adopted Bo in August of 2018 from the Humane Society, where he was a new arrival originally from sunny Florida. Bo is deaf (we think he might have just a little hearing left but can’t be sure.) This is his first winter with SNOW! and we are learning new things about our pup everyday. He’s not too thrilled about the deep freeze, but every time it gets warmer, he loves to be outside prancing in our backyard snow piles or taking long walks.

First on the agenda of a perfect Sunday Bo prefers a long snuggle on the couch before we take our morning walk. We looks up at you like this whenever you forget to keep petting him :) After a good half hour or so of this game we take a walk and he gets his dry food breakfast.

After our walk it was bath time, which Bo is not a fan of. He much prefers his natural stink, but with some minor allergies in the house, his daily grooming isn’t going to be enough. He gets the full spa experience with oatmeal sponge bath, towel massage and blow dry. Since he was such a Goob Doggo at bath time he got a treat (which is also a dental chew for our benefit when he’s in our face). Bo does some minor tricks, like sit, lie down, and shake but teaching him sign language is always a little tricky because mostly he’s just waiting for that snack.

Our living room gets quite a bit of sun in the mornings, and anything that reflects light is instant entertainment! Mostly its phone screens that catch the light and throw it on the wall, which gets Mr. Bo Jangles all excited! You can see him staring at the wall like he’s looking for the 9 3/4 platform in a Harry Potter Novel. Sorry muggle, you can’t catch this one.

The afternoon alternates between play time and nap time for Bo Jackson Pollack. His favorite toy right now is a rope monkey (or at least once it was a monkey.) His favorite spot for naps is on the couch, where he thinks he is perfectly camouflaged, snuggling on our favorite Mexican blanket or on the pillow with one of our engagement pictures on it. We often surprise him when we come home, in the afternoon and he’s napping on the couch.

Sometime in the evening we take our second walk of the day and see if we can find any SQUIRRELS! running around. When we get home we make dinner and Bo relaxes until we feed him. Finally, what perfect day doesn’t end snuggling on the couch while watching Netflix: here Bo Jangles is watching the French series The Returned or Les Revenants. Our boys will check in from time to time to pet Bo as well before his long hard day ends upstairs in his bed.

Hope ya’ll enjoyed Bo’s day as much as he did! Below are the photos of another busy day in the life of our sweet pet.